Two UCLA alumni receive 2023 Librarian of the Year awards
The back of Powell Library is pictured. Two librarians were awarded the Librarian of the Year Award after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Catherine Hamilton
May 24, 2023 12:18 a.m.
This post was updated May 25 at 3:32 p.m.
The Librarians Association of UCLA awarded Courtney Hoffner and Sangeeta Pal the 2023 Librarian of the Year Awards on April 25.
Hoffner, the website managing editor and content design librarian, was awarded in recognition of her work in relaunching and redesigning the UCLA Library website. Pal, the access services librarian for the UCLA Law Library, received the award for her work with streamlining library materials, according to a press release.
“The work of both librarians have had a deep impact on how the UCLA Library and collections are viewed and accessed,” said Lizeth Ramirez, the chair of the Librarian of the Year Award committee, in the press release.
The Librarians Association, which was founded in 1967, helps the UC with professional and governance issues and gives recommendations for librarians’ rights and responsibilities, according to the press release. The annual $500 award, which was established in 1994, is intended to honor outstanding achievements in creativity, innovation, leadership, inclusivity and courage through librarianship, according to the press release. Two librarians received the award this year, as there was no award last year because of disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both librarians are also university alumni. Hoffner received a master’s degree in information studies in 2008 from UCLA, and Pal received a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1995 from UCLA.
The association also recognized the other 2023 nominees including Salma Abumeeiz, Jason Burton, Kevin Gerson, Christopher Gilman, Miki Goral, Donna Gulnac, Angela Horne, Michael Oppenheim, Lynda Tolly and Hermine Vermeij.
“Hoffner’s unique blend of institutional knowledge and domain expertise, combined with her tremendous dedication to quality and the mission of the Library, made her the perfect person to lead us in this transformation,” Ramirez said in the press release. “Pal had a knack for hearing all sides of an issue and asking insightful questions, and her leadership was one of the key reasons that UCLA had a successful migration to the integrated system.”
